The 74th annual working meeting of the Seafarers Committee of Central, Eastern Europe and Norway was held in Bucharest (Romania) at the end of June. Representatives of maritime trade unions from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, Norway, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Georgia took part in the event. Chairman of the Seafarers' Union of Russia Yury Sukhorukov and the SUR Vice Chairman Vadim Ivanov represented the interests of Russian maritime workers. It's worth noting that there are more Russian seafarers working on board of Norwegian vessels than seafarers of other nationalities.

Employers also attended the meeting as guests. The Association of Norwegian Shipowners presented its fleet, which, to date, has 1,585 vessels that are registered in the Norwegian International (Second) Ship Register (NIS) and under the flag of convenience (FOC). Since there are not many Norwegian seafarers in the world, local shipowners hire crew members from other countries. It is no secret that Russian seafarers are especially popular for their expertise.